The disproportionately low employment of minority coaches has long been documented and discussed. A new study focusing on one of the most visible college sports proposes that in top-tier football programs, where nearly half of all athletes are black but only about 10 percent of coaches are, “race is important in channeling, but not necessarily racism.” The disparity is in part due, the study argues, to black and white athletes playing different positions, some of which are more likely to lead to assistant coaching positions, some of which in turn are more likely to lead to head coaching jobs.

The University of Georgia researchers, in an article to be published in Social Science Quarterly, found that quarterbacks, linebackers and tight ends – all positions disproportionately occupied by white players – are more likely to have obtained head coaching positions. Similarly, offensive and defensive coordinators -- the assistant coaching positions that transition most directly to head coaching jobs – are disproportionately occupied by white men. The researchers also note that while 6 percent of white coaches never played football in college, that was not true of any black coaches in the study.